Travel Budget – Nepal

Before leaving for Nepal I set aside a travel budget of £600 ($860) per month. This turned out to be about right.

Your budget for Nepal will very much depend on whether or not you plan to do any trekking, as this tends to be where the costs add up. I spent 25 days trekking during my 52 day stay in Nepal, so my budget is likely to be higher than those who plan to stay at a lower altitude.
Below I’ve laid out how much I spent over the 52 days and worked out the daily average:

Accommodation13,800NPR (£89.96) total
265NPR (£1.72) per day
Accommodation costs in Nepal vary between the city and on the trail. In Kathmandu a good budget room (for 2) will set you back around 600NPR. Whereas a twin room while trekking is only 200NPR (or even cheaper).

Transport36,081NPR (£234.78) total
694NPR (£4.52) per day
Road transport between Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan are all reasonably cheap with a bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara costing around 600NPR per person. One of my biggest transport expenses was the flight between Kathmandu and Lukla costing £192.65 (booked direct with the airline). Often people will skip the flight and trek in the Annapurna region to save money, as it’s accessible by road, but I’d say the views offered in the Everest region make the flight well worth the cost.

Food68,068NPR (£442.37)
1,309NPR (£8.51) per day
Again the cost of food varies depending on whether you’re trekking or not. In Kathmandu you can get a good Dal Bhat for 180NPR and a plate of momos for 120NPR. Pizza in a upmarket restaurant is around 600NPR and a western style coffee is 180NPR. A Nepali tea in a low key cafe in Thamel costs around 40NPR. However, while trekking food is expensive (as a porter has had to carry it up there!) In the Everest region a Dal Bhat is around 600NPR, momos 400NPR and a milk tea 100NPR.

Entertainment40,375NPR (£262.40)
776NPR (£5.05) per day
Again your entertainment budget will depend on your interests and travel style. A few examples are: paragliding in Pokhara 9,775NPR (£63.50), entrance to Durbar Square 750NPR and a Momo making course 500NPR. Hiring a guide in the Annapurna region will cost around $20-$30 per day and in the Everest region $50 per day. If you do decide to hire a guide I would recommend getting references and going for the higher end of the budget. As with a lot of things you get what you pay for when it comes to trekking guides!

Miscellaneous13,750NPR (£89.35) total
265NPR (£1.71) per day
If you’re trekking you can hire good quality sleeping bags in Thamel for 100NPR per day and a down jacket for 150NPR per day. Trekking permits for the Annapurna region will set you back 3,500NPR. A hot shower on the Everest Base Camp trek will cost you around 400NPR.

Total
In total I spent 172,074NPR (£1,118.59) during my 52 day stay in Nepal. This equated to 3,309NPR (£21.51) per day.